Knit fabric and garment construction



- H. BOERPLE KNIT FABRIC JAIND GARMENT CONSTRUCTION A Y :iJm 9,1940;

Y Fi ed-March 1 6, 19:59

P m E O V w M H 42%; ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. I

UNITED STAT their,rnlsino AND ,oolvs'rlwo'rroiv 1 I HansBLoeppIe, Valley Cottage N.

Application March 16,

1939', SeriaiNo. eeario "f 1 20mm. .(Cl. 66-

This invention relates togaknitted fabricconstruction and to garments made therefrom 'as well as to the method of knitting the same. 7

One of the principal objects .of the invention is to knit a fabric construction from non-elastic and substantially non-stretchable lengths. of woven fabric which, when nade up into garments will have suflicient elasticity to make it conform to the figure ofthe wearer.

10 Another object ism; provide argument made from narrow woven fabric in which the stitches are spaced comparatively widely. apart to form Another general object is to provide s. garment which combines the elastic characteristics of a knitted garment with the durability andstrength and the dressy effect of a garment made from woven fabric. t

Other objects and advantages inherent in the panying detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying d Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a knitting machine on which the invention is carried out:

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the ribbon car-- rier and guide on the machine;

Figure'B is an enlarged view oi the tensioning device for/holding the ribbon taut during the knitting operation; 7 l

Figure 4 is a plan view of the needle beds on an enlarged scaleof the machine shown in Figure 1; Figure 5- is a diagrammatic view of the loops oftwo succeeding courses of knitting. f: Theiin-ventive idea, which contemplatesbroadl the formation of a knitted fabric and garment ;;from"-lengths" of woven material, is adaptedto a varietyof --expressions1 andzthe views shown in the drawin are ."for" the .purpose of illustration only and are submittedmerelyv to facilitate the description of the invention as a whole and not to define the limitations thereof.

The main uses of knitted fabrics call for an elastic web. This elasticity is due to the capacity -of each loop of yarn to change its shape in the direction of any strain upon it. This is easily acand garmentsfromwoven matejrial; 1

invention will become apparent from the 8060111,-

customary manner.

complished when yarns areus iwhieiitiesiibstantially elastic in themselves; Wovenfabric, V on the other hand, is comparativelynon-stretch-;, ableand loops formed therefrom, if-kn-itted close:

ly together, do not easily change. theirshapen y:

Howevenin view of; the faistthat-wbven fabric is more durableand can withstand greater strain andwear, it has become desirable t knitfabriQs The basis 'of allknitted fabric is, of course,

consideredas knitgoods irrespective ofcthe mode H 1 of'the,-loop.,-i-Plaln knit fabric is composed 'of a series. of courses composedof loops, each course of which is intermeshed with the, preceding. and];

succeeding course; The real knitting operation, I therefore, I may be characterized as drawing a 3 new loopthrough a previously formed'one which then becomes theol'done throughjwhich a new i one is again drawn and so on,

In conventional knitting, theiloops and courses arecrowded andv small, particularlyif'flne yarn 5.

is used. Woven fabric, such as ribbon, however, does not lend itself to such a method. The result would be a verystlff and boardy fabric. The :5

invention has over-come "this objection by spac ing the loops as well as the courses and wales comparatively widely apart. In this manner, the stitches present the appearance rather of loosely tied knots/which tighten when the fabric or ga'rgo ment is subjected to a strain but again loosen up when the tension is released. I

A better understanding of'the invention may be obtained .by describing the method of opera tion'performed on the machine illustrated by way of'exarnpl'e in the'dra'wing.

In this type of machine, the usual front and rear needle beds i0 and II carry the needles [3 which are controlled to form stitches through the medium of the locking mechanism supported by'the carriage generally indicated by the reference charac r 14' (Figure 1); :The machine is operated b reciprocating the"carriage it over the needle beds III and I 2. During thereciprocatory movement, the carriage controls the needle jacks associated with the various needles to accomplish thei regular knitting operation in the As shown in Figure 4, the needles l3 are'spaced relatively widely apart except where the selvage of the fabric is to be formed; The reference character l3aindicates grooves in the needle bed in which the needles 1 operate and the conventional knitting contemplates, a needle in each of these grooves or in theg'rooves of at least one 'of the v e the 1g loop and all fabrics made on a loopedbasisaare beds. It will be noted from the drawing that in the invention the needles skip several grooves.

It will be understood, of course, that different kinds of loops and stitches may be used depending upon what design is to be produced. Whatever stitch is used, however, the same should be.

spaced widely apart and interconnected bya non-knitted length of material.

It has been found that a practical and strong web can be formed by having each needle in the front and rear beds form a loop. These loops are referred to as it in Figure 5 of the drawing. The

needles in one of the beds are offset slightly from the needles in the other bed as shown inFigure 4. This arrangement results in the formation of two adjacent loops lid and I5!) as shown in Figure 5.

The relative position of these two loops are then reversed and these reversed loops are intermeshed or locked with the loop of the succeeding wale.

The reversing or shifting of the loops is accomplished by a conventional shifting mechanism including the links l6, l1 and I8 and the rack:

i9 and the handle 21.

This type of stitch or knot formation locks the loops securely without having to be pulledtaut and makes possible an intermediate space of unstitched material of considerable length. This arrangement gives the stitches or knots a chance 1 to contract or expand according to the strain imposed upon the web.

As previously indicated, the knitting machine proper is of a conventionalconstruction and forms no part of the invention. It is importantfor the best results to present the ribbon 20 from which the fabric is made in a flat,untwisted condition.

Since the yarns from which the conventional border.

twisted condition. These means include the spool 2| which may be disposed horizontally on the frame of the machine as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. A retard spring 22 may also be provided so that the ribbon 20 will unwind therefrom only under tension.

The ribbon, after leaving the spool 2|, is engaged by the spring tensioning member 23 which is provided with a vertically narrow and horizontally elongated opening or eye 24 for smoothing out the flat ribbon. Similar openings or eyes are provided in the frame member 25 and in the yarn carrier 26.

As previously indicated the selvage of the fabric 'or the border of the garment is preferably formed of closelyformed loops. The non-elastic,

still! and boardy efiect of this closely knit portion may be alleviated by the insertion of an elastic material such as elastic filaments or ribbon. These may be sewed on the inside of the This may be desirable along the bottom edge of the garment, around the neck and around the selvage.

It will be understood that the foregoing description has been made without limitation and various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed 15:.

1. A knitted fabric web made from woven, nonelastic ribbons in which the stitches are spaced apart and consist of relatively loose knots interconnected by lengths of unknitted ribbon whereby said knots will become' tightened when the web is subjected to tension and will resume their original condition upon the release of the tension.

2. A knitted garment made from a web formed from lengths of non-elastic woven fabric, the stitches of said web being spaced apart and consisting of substantially loose knots interconnected by lengths of unknitted fabric.

HANS BOEPPLE. 

